Penn & Teller and the Loggerhead Shrike.
Mar//2010
Like I said I got all the photos I really wanted of the shrikes on the wire or fence post. So I decided to work on a plan to get one or more of these shrikes to land on a branch or “perch” that I attached to the fence in the area where they were hunting from. I made it a point to have my “perches” just a little higher then any of the fence post making it more likely the bird would choose the higher perch to hunt from. I wish I could say it was a “slam dunk” as far as getting one of the shrikes to land on any of the perches but like all good plans they sometime do not work the way you want. I thought they would choose one of my perches most of the time and while they did land on them these birds have a mind of their own and the fence was still just fine with them when it came time to hunt. To be fair to myself they did use all of the perches I set out however just not as often as I thought they would.
My Honda Element at the Venice Landfill, Canon 600mm lens resting on beanbag.
One of the shrikes did like the tallest of all the perches and that was the bird I spent most of the time trying to photograph. I would stay in my Honda Element with a bean bag on the windowsill, I use the Wildlife Imaging Beanbag purchased from NatureScapes. Works well from any auto so you can now use your vehicle has a moving blind. I also add some camo material on my drivers side window which helps hide me even more from any bird I may be approaching. With this set up I would sit and wait at the perch of my choice until the shrike landed on that perch. Here’s the interesting thing, the tallest perch I mentioned, I attached that perch to the fence last year, January 2009! This thing stayed up for over a year until I returned in December 2009. This was great news for me. It meant the shrikes had been using this perch for about a year. So when I pulled up and sat waiting they were comfortable using this perch. The only problem was a small part of the branch at the top had lost a piece of its bark and now expose a bright spot. For most people this might not be an issue, for me it was. I did not want to take down this branch because the shrikes liked to use it. So for the first two weeks I was in Florida I just photographed the shrike on the perch with this “bright spot”. All the time trying to find a way to fix this problem. Then one day while I was spending time at a friends place in Englewood helping to feed their donkey and mule it hit me! The Donkey “Jose” and the Mule “Jackie The Jackass” like to eat these long strands of tree moss you see growing in Florida. If you look at the photo below you can see this moss hanging off the trees. So I gathered up a bag full and took it with me one day to the landfill and wrapped it around the branch. Wham! The Shrike landed on the perch and now it had some texture or just more interesting looking, but you be the judge.
Jackie The Mule, me and Jose The Donkey.
Anyway I did get some nice photos of Loggerhead Shrike and just like Penn and Teller you now know how it was done.
Click here to view more photos from the Venice Landfill and this past trip to Florida.
“Side Notes”
I’ve started to play around with shooting video from my new Canon 7D camera. Check out a test I posted of a Harbor Seal video on YouTube shot back in November, best if viewed at 720p HD.
I have the cover photo on this months Purple Martin Conservation Association magazine UPDATE, vol. 19 (1), Winter 2010.
As an aside to that they are located in Erie, Pennsylvania which just happens to be my home town. Also for those of you that have seen my (Migration Productions) hawk watch video “Looking Skyward” A Passion for Hawk Watching then you have seen an interview with Louise Chambers. Louis is the Editor for the Purple Martin magazine UPDATE.
Subadult male photographed at Mass Audubon Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield, Mass.
Here’s a list of some of the events I will be taking part in over the next few months.
Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay
Cape Cod Natural History Conference
Date: Saturday April 3, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Cape Cod Viewfinders Camera Club
Date: Wednesday April 7, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM
Eastern Mass Hawk Watch
and
Mass Audubon Joppa Flats
Spring Hawk Watch Program
Date: Sunday April 11, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts
274 Moody Street
Waltham, MA 02453
781-209-1700
Bird and Wildlife Photography
"How to get the shot."
This three night workshop will look at where, when, how and what equipment is needed to photograph birds and other wildlife in Massachusetts plus other locations in the US.
Workshop Section 1
Date: Wednesday April 14, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Workshop Section 2
Date: Wednesday April 21, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Workshop Section 3
Date: Wednesday April 28, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Fundamentals of Bird Photography
Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center
Canton, MA
Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010
Time: 6:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Rain date: Sunday, June 13, 2010
Final note, if you have not been to see the Isaac Sprague exhibit at the Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center you need to do so. This is truly an amazing exhibit that should not be missed!
Until next time take care and enjoy the outdoors and please work to preserve it.
Shawn
My Honda Element at the Venice Landfill, Canon 600mm lens resting on beanbag.
One of the shrikes did like the tallest of all the perches and that was the bird I spent most of the time trying to photograph. I would stay in my Honda Element with a bean bag on the windowsill, I use the Wildlife Imaging Beanbag purchased from NatureScapes. Works well from any auto so you can now use your vehicle has a moving blind. I also add some camo material on my drivers side window which helps hide me even more from any bird I may be approaching. With this set up I would sit and wait at the perch of my choice until the shrike landed on that perch. Here’s the interesting thing, the tallest perch I mentioned, I attached that perch to the fence last year, January 2009! This thing stayed up for over a year until I returned in December 2009. This was great news for me. It meant the shrikes had been using this perch for about a year. So when I pulled up and sat waiting they were comfortable using this perch. The only problem was a small part of the branch at the top had lost a piece of its bark and now expose a bright spot. For most people this might not be an issue, for me it was. I did not want to take down this branch because the shrikes liked to use it. So for the first two weeks I was in Florida I just photographed the shrike on the perch with this “bright spot”. All the time trying to find a way to fix this problem. Then one day while I was spending time at a friends place in Englewood helping to feed their donkey and mule it hit me! The Donkey “Jose” and the Mule “Jackie The Jackass” like to eat these long strands of tree moss you see growing in Florida. If you look at the photo below you can see this moss hanging off the trees. So I gathered up a bag full and took it with me one day to the landfill and wrapped it around the branch. Wham! The Shrike landed on the perch and now it had some texture or just more interesting looking, but you be the judge.
Jackie The Mule, me and Jose The Donkey.
Anyway I did get some nice photos of Loggerhead Shrike and just like Penn and Teller you now know how it was done.
Click here to view more photos from the Venice Landfill and this past trip to Florida.
“Side Notes”
I’ve started to play around with shooting video from my new Canon 7D camera. Check out a test I posted of a Harbor Seal video on YouTube shot back in November, best if viewed at 720p HD.
I have the cover photo on this months Purple Martin Conservation Association magazine UPDATE, vol. 19 (1), Winter 2010.
As an aside to that they are located in Erie, Pennsylvania which just happens to be my home town. Also for those of you that have seen my (Migration Productions) hawk watch video “Looking Skyward” A Passion for Hawk Watching then you have seen an interview with Louise Chambers. Louis is the Editor for the Purple Martin magazine UPDATE.
Subadult male photographed at Mass Audubon Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield, Mass.
Here’s a list of some of the events I will be taking part in over the next few months.
Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay
Cape Cod Natural History Conference
Date: Saturday April 3, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Cape Cod Viewfinders Camera Club
Date: Wednesday April 7, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM
Eastern Mass Hawk Watch
and
Mass Audubon Joppa Flats
Spring Hawk Watch Program
Date: Sunday April 11, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts
274 Moody Street
Waltham, MA 02453
781-209-1700
Bird and Wildlife Photography
"How to get the shot."
This three night workshop will look at where, when, how and what equipment is needed to photograph birds and other wildlife in Massachusetts plus other locations in the US.
Workshop Section 1
Date: Wednesday April 14, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Workshop Section 2
Date: Wednesday April 21, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Workshop Section 3
Date: Wednesday April 28, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Fundamentals of Bird Photography
Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center
Canton, MA
Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010
Time: 6:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Rain date: Sunday, June 13, 2010
Final note, if you have not been to see the Isaac Sprague exhibit at the Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center you need to do so. This is truly an amazing exhibit that should not be missed!
Until next time take care and enjoy the outdoors and please work to preserve it.
Shawn
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